On the subject of structure, there’s nothing wrong with keeping it simple. Introduction, main body and concluding bit makes life dead easy for the reader, if a bit predictable. But predictability might be the comfort blanket that both writer and reader need. Yer man Archer, the Mills and Boone formula, Shakespeare and Tarantino all have a touch of predictable structure.
That doesn’t mean that writing to a formula has to be dull. If you think about operas, symphonies, plays, jazz tunes and most art forms, they have a point of reference or a basic skeleton on which the creative form can be assembled. The form that the artistic work uses, enables performer and audience to share an artistic space without too much confusion.
Throwing out the rule book and devising your own guiding principles is commendable, but best left to those who have explored every avenue of their art, and have earned the right to take innovation to extremes. Stand up and take a bow please Miles Davis, Mozart, Joseph Heller, Public Enemy et al.
odespinner 